Yaacov Trope - US grants

A major cause of errors in person perception is identification-inference nonindependence, that is, the use of the same sources of information to identify behavior and to make further inferences about its causes. The present research will investigate the antecedents and consequences of identification-inference nonindependence in judgements about personal dispositions. In this domain, nonindependence occurs to the extent that information about situational pressures and prior beliefs about the target's personality (priors) affect both identification of the behavior and inferences about the target's personality. Nonindependence can produce systematic biases. In particular, nonindependence augments perceiver's reliance on their prior beliefs about the target person and undermines proper utilization of information about situational pressures. The proposed research will investigate nonindependence in both self perception and other perception. The self perception studies will investigate how placebo treatments affect identification of psychological symptoms and inferences regarding the underlying psychopathology. The other perception studies will study identification and inferential effects of stereotype- based expectancies and information about situational pressures (e.g., group pressure). Together, the proposed studies should increase our understanding of how low-level identification processes and high-level inference processes contribute to biased and unbiased judgements about our own and others' personal dispositions.

The proposed research investigates how temporal distance from future events influences judgements and decisions regarding those events. It is assumed that people use more schematic construals to represent distant future events than near future events. Therefore, judgements and decisions regarding distant future events are likely to be based on relatively central and abstract features of the events, whereas judgements and decisions regarding near future events are likely to be based on more peripheral and concrete features of the events. The proposed studies are designed to test this assumption and its implications for time-dependent changes in information processing, predictions, and preferences regarding future events. The findings are expected to identify advantages and disadvantages of decisions at different point in time and, thus, help us understand and improve the way people think, plan, and make choices about their future.

In everyday life, people judge and make decisions about events that will take place either in the relatively near or distant future. Examples include decisions about future education, jobs, close relationships, and health-related events. This program of research investigates how temporal distance from future events influences judgments and decisions regarding those events. It is hypothesized that people will use more abstract thinking when considering distant future events than when considering near future events. As a result, judgments and decisions regarding distant future events are more likely to be based on relatively general, superordinate, and decontextualized features, whereas judgments and decisions regarding near future events are more likely to be based on relatively specific, subordinate, and contextualized features of the events. A series of experiments will test this hypothesis and its implications for time-dependent changes in information processing, predictions, and preferences regarding future events. The findings are expected to identify advantages and disadvantages of decisions at different points in time, and will ultimately help us understand and improve the way people think, plan, and make choices about their future.

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed research investigates how distance from a situation (temporal, spatial, and social) affects the role of personal goals in guiding individuals' responses to the situation. It is proposed that any kind of distance from a situation increases the likelihood that the situation will be construed in terms of individuals' primary goals than in terms of their secondary goals. Primary goals are therefore more likely to guide responses to distant than proximal situations, whereas secondary goals are more likely to guide responses to proximal than distant situations. The proposed research investigates the interrelations among psychological distance dimensions and the effects of these dimensions on (1) construal of situations, (2) commitment to one's primary goals, (3) task performance and retrospective evaluations, (4) self-control, and (5) the resolution of interpersonal conflict. If the predictions for the proposed studies are confirmed, they would suggest that from a psychologically distant perspective individuals are better able to focus on their core values and express their priorities in behavior. Individuals' sense of self-determination and psychological well-being depends on their ability to make choices that express their self-identity. The predicted results would suggest that it may be possible to increase the likelihood of such choices by making individuals think of their choice alternatives from a psychologically distant perspective. [unreadable] [unreadable]

Other people with whom we interact can be distanced from us socially, geographically, or temporally. Individuals can cross this distance in a minimal way, confining their social relationships to those individuals who are psychologically close to them, or they may expand their horizons to include a more diverse and psychologically distant set of individuals. Relational scope refers to the extent to which one's social relationships extend to people who are distant from oneself. This research explores how people transcend the distance that separates them from others. The researchers examine the psychological processes that prompt expansive relational scope and contractive relational scope, arguing that greater degrees of abstraction allow more expansive relational scope. They predict that communication intended for a distant (vs. proximal) recipient will focus to a greater extent on core aspects, will use a more abstract medium, and will be less grounded in physical gestures. Moreover, when communications are more abstract along these dimensions, senders should be more expansive and communicate with more distant recipients.

The present research on relational scope promises to shed light on when we will expand or contract the scope of our relations, limiting our interactions to those that are proximal to us or expanding our relationships to include those that are more distant. Furthermore, by highlighting the way that mental construal processes are used to traverse psychological distance, this research emphasizes the dramatic way that the distance of others shapes our interaction with them. In so doing, it ultimately offers suggestions for facilitating effective communication and learning among the increasingly diverse groups of individuals. The proposal addresses training and development of graduate students and undergraduate students. The research findings would be disseminated through research conferences and traditional publications (empirical journal articles). Undergraduates in the business program at USC would also be incorporated into the research, which could extend basic psychological to students who would not normally be involved in it.

People constantly learn from those in their social worlds. Although these teachers are often close to their students (similar to themselves, living nearby, located in the same time period, etc.), they can also be far away: socially distant, spatially distant, and even temporally distant. This research tests the hypothesis that concrete knowledge is more easily learned from nearby teachers, while abstract knowledge is more readily learned from distant teachers. To accomplish this, the PIs will examine the role of proximity on the conceptualization of knowledge and on the effectiveness of different types of learning. The proposed research has practical implications for teaching in a wide variety of contexts; from parents teaching children, to schools looking to foster abstract thinking. A practical and policy implication of this work is that there may be types of knowledge (e.g., abstract concepts) in which students may actually learn better when an instructor is distant (e.g., distance learning or online courses). Overall, the societal benefits of the proposed research will provide clear guidance on future innovations in America's educational system.

This research is based on Construal Level Theory which posits that people's ability to conceptualize objects and events varies by the psychological proximity of this information. The researchers will investigate, in addition to proximity, whether the effectiveness of an instructor will also vary by the types knowledge gained: 1) concrete knowledge (i.e., "volunteering at the animal shelter"); or 2) abstract knowledge (i.e., "caring about the well-being of abandoned cats and dogs"). The researchers will examine the role of proximity (social, spatial, or temporal distance) and the level of abstraction of knowledge gained on two modes of instruction: 1) learning through imitation or modeling; and 2) learning transfer. The results will contribute to a broader understanding of how people learn from those around them and how the effects of psychological distance on social learning depend on the nature of what is learned and how it is learned.